Aston Villa last night completed the signings of Luke Young from Middlesbrough and Nicky Shorey of Reading for around £9m as Martin O'Neill's summer spending finally began to gather momentum. The Villa manager is expected to bring in several other new faces but the acquisition of two England players to fill the full-back positions eases the pressure before the start of the Premier League season.

It is understood that Young, who was available for £2.5m last summer when he moved from Charlton to Boro, will cost Villa close to £5.5m, with Shorey's fee believed to be in the region of £3.5m. With Wilfred Bouma injured and Villa operating without an orthodox right-back for the past 12 months, both signings can expect to go into the side for Thursday's Uefa Cup second qualifying round fixture against the Icelandic side FH Hafnarfjardar.

Villa's interest in Young came as a major disappointment to Gareth Southgate although the £3m profit that the Middlesbrough manager made on the 29-year-old means the club have been well compensated. He is now hoping to bring in Fulham's German right-back Moritz Volz.

Shorey, meanwhile, had attracted interest from Sunderland and Portsmouth before Villa's offer for the 27-year-old was accepted. O'Neill was not initially in the market for a first-choice left-back but, with Bouma suffering a dislocated ankle against Odense last month, the Villa manager changed his mind. "I can achieve all my ambitions at this club," Shorey said last night. "There were other clubs interested but this is such a big club.

"I want to get back into the Premier League and show people what I can do. Villa are definitely going places. You can tell by the signings they're making and the people already at the club."

Another player who could be on his way to Villa Park is the £6m-rated Tottenham centre-half Younes Kaboul. The Portsmouth manager, Harry Redknapp, had looked like the frontrunner to sign the Frenchman - and Shorey before that - but may now lose both to O'Neill.